Green Credits Programme

After earning a dubious reputation the world over, carbon credits are coming to India in the form of the Green Credits Programme. After decades of consistently failing to preserve wetlands, grasslands and scrublands, the MoEFCC and the Government of India refuse to even recognize these as crucial ecosystems. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu. 

Natural Forests versus Miyawaki Plantations

Miyawaki plantations have been touted as the easy answer to unplanned urban development, with even India's MoEFCC promoting it as a quick fix for urban greening. The science though, is drastically different from the cosy picture Miyawaki paints. Ecologists and critics of the method say that there is no substitute for natural green spaces, that there is no 'quick fix' for deforestation.

Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain, doubling up as a Hayao Miyazaki fan comic!

In their article 'How Mr. Miyawaki Broke my Heart' in The Wire Science, authors Fazal Rashid and Somil Daga aptly refer to the Miyawaki method as 'climax without foreplay'! Read here.

Project Tiger and Project Elephant

Conservation news that doesn't make headlines: Project Tiger and Project Elephant have recently been merged. Cartoon for my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

MoEFCC Parvesh and EIA

The MoEFCC has come up with an ingenious solution to counter all the negative press it has been receiving : stop access to environment impact assessments on its website, Parivesh! Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Developing Nations at COP27

Developing nations at COP27. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

The Cheetah Comes to India

Amid much pomp and show, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, African Cheetahs from Namibia will be flown in a specially decorated aircraft to India today, to be reintroduced to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, which was initially prepared to establish a second population of Asiatic Lions. Read all my cartoons on the issue here. 

River Beautification in India

River beautification is not river conservation. The same goes for lakes and other water bodies. Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

A Great Indian Bustard Protests against Mega Solar Plants

A Great Indian Bustard protests against mega solar power plants in my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. Some essential reading on this issue: 'Coal, Glasgow and the future of the Bustard' by Neha Sinha in the Hindustan Times, and 'India's rooftop solar sector ignored' by Aathira Perinchery in Mongabay India. 

ISFR Report 2021

On the India State of Forests Report and India's 'impressiv' increase in forest cover, from my column with The Hindu Weekend. A huge thanks to MD Madhusudhan for his analysis and breakdown of this report, which you can read on his Twitter profile. 

Forest Conservation Act Amendment

In yet another 'masterstroke' by the Government of India, a very problematic set of amendments to the Forest Cpnservation Act has been proposed, and only 15 days have been allotted to receive comments. These are just a few of the points of contention presented in this comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. More details are in this article in The Hindu. Do read and offer your comments on the amendment on the Civis website here, which also has a summary of the bill. 

Please welcome our new environment minister and 'Clearance Man' Bhupender Yadav making his debut appearance on Green Humour!

Nicobar Development and the Leatherback Turtle

Niti Aayog's plan to 'develop' Great Nicobar island is moving ahead, with the Environment Ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee recommending the site for grant of terms of reference, despite outlining serious environmental concerns with the project. Read more on Pankaj Sekhsaria's article about the developments with the project, which poses serious threats to one of the only nesting populations of leatherback turtles in India, among other fauna and flora. 

A petition started by Dhruvam Desai is on Change.org. You may also write to the MoEFCC and Niti Aayog directly opposing the project if you are convinced about its demerits. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. 

Andaman Nicobar and Compensatory Afforestation

Salute to Niti Aayog's grand vision of bringing Hong Kong to India, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands! Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. 

Fruit Bat Seed Dispersal

Fruit bats versus the Environment Ministry: who do you think would win? Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Climate Change and People

What does climate change mean to different people in our country? Happy Republic Day, India! Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Southwestern Railway Doubletracking

On the double-tracking of the Southwestern Railways in Goa for facilitating coal transport. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Modi and Renewable Energy

Modi and renewable energy. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu, keeping in with the spirit of #NoShaveNovember! 

Government (in)action on Air Pollution

In praise of how efficiently the state and central governments have tackled the air pollution crisis in the NCR from my column with Sunday Midday.

Save Thano

As Thano forest, an elephant corridor in Uttarakhand comes under threat from the state government for the expansion of Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, hundreds of citizens have staged protests. Thano acts as a carbon sink for the state's capital, which is already facing a spike in air pollution, 

Lantana and Tiger Reserves

On the invasion of India's green cover by Lantana, from my column with Sunday Mid-Day. Read more about the issue in Rajat Rastogi's article for Mongabay here.

Anti-National Hangul

Jammu and Kashmir's state animal, the Hangul asks some 'anti-national' questions in my column with The Hindu.